Web conditioning machine



Jan. 2,1962 0. D. JOHNSON ET AL 3,015,158

WEB CONDITIONING MACHINE Filed Dec. 24, 1959 FIG.1 I

//V VE/V TOHS OLIVER D. HNSON CHARLES LOVKA, JR.

BY 2 7M 6 This invention relates to a machine for conditioning paper web stock, and in particular, to a web cooling device which dries the web while controlling the moisture content of the web so that no condensation forms on the walls of the web cooling device, or, later portions of the machine.

In the manufacture of business cards, which includes checks and the like, from a continuous web, it is common practice to print information on the web. This information may be printed in the form of a check, or just a name of a company.

Now, the finished card must have a certain moisture content to meet certain minimum standards. The standards are necessary for satisfactory use of the cards in business machines. These business cards contain stored information that is quite frequently retrieved by machines feeding the cards by picking knives and by sensing the cards by brushes or the like. The brushes are used for sensing information on the card for sorting, collating, or for supplying information to a computer. If the moisture content is not maintained within certain limits, either the means for feeding the cards through the machine, or the sensing brushes for reading the cards, will create excess card damage.

The printing of ink on the cards requires a quick means for setting the ink. The quick setting is desirable, and in some cases is required, in order that successive manufacturing steps can be performed without danger of the printed matter becoming smeared. A common method for setting the printed ink on the web is by the application of steam in a steam box, which comprises steam jets and heating elements. By controlling the heat and moisture application to the web to set the ink, the balance of water in the base stock is not disturbed, that is, the moisture content in the paper is maintained within prescribed limits.

When using sprayed steam on the web to set the ink, the moisture characteristic of the base stock is increased. As soon as the ink has had time to set, the web is fed by feed rolls through a punching station to be perforated or stamped out into checks or business cards. Normally, if sufficient time were available, the web can be slowly cooled to room temperature merely by waiting. However, economically speaking, this takes too much time and it is most desirable to either perforate or stamp out the cards as soon as practical after the printing and setting stations. Therefore, the web has been finally cooled and dried by blasts of air. The amount of steam applied initially to set the ink is calculated to contain suflicient moisture so that after the drying and cooling process the web will contain the proper amount of moisture when it reaches room temperature. However, providing air blasts across the web are not completely satisfactory since a relatively long time element is required to sufficiently dry and cool the web. if the paper is processed soon after the steam box process, the excess heat will result in the removal of the moisture in the paper and it will condense and collect on various cooler portions of the machine if the paper is not permitted to cool and dry. The heat within the paper allows the moisture to collect at the surface of the paper. Condensate collects on 3,015,168 Patented Jan. 2, 1962 various portions of the machine since the metal is cold and the web is hot. This causes the machine to rust.

There have been several prior attempts at removing moisture from the surface of a sheet so as not to leave condensate on other portions of the machine that follow. One such attempt (as noted above) has been to provide air jet pipes so as to supply blasts of air under sufiicient pressure to remove the moisture from the surface. However, it has been found that high velocity air removes the condensate from the surface of the web but deposits it on the surface of the machine in which it is contained. Also, in such arrangements, the high velocity air is not utilized as a means for bringing in large volumes of air to be mixed with the high velocity air. It has been found that it is necessary to supply large volumes of air at room temperature to the surface of the web as well as the high velocity air.

It is therefore an object of this invention to provide an ink setting steam arrangement without the normal accompanying inherent shortcomings of forming condensate.

It is another object of this invention to provide a means for supplying high velocity air to the surface of a web mixed with large volumes of atmospheric air and to dispose of this mixed air so that no condensate can form on the walls of the cooler.

It is a further object of this invention to cool and remove excess moisture from a web in such a manner as to leave the web free of warp and curl.

It is still another object of this invention to pass a web through a container for rapidly disposing of moisture in the web created by a steam setting process for setting ink, so that moisture in the web remains substantially constant and thereby removes the possibility of moisture condensate forming on other portions of the machine.

It is yet another object of this invention to rapidly cool the surface of a web by rapidly cooling the web at the exit of a steam setting process so as not to have a relatively cold surface engage a relatively hot surface to form condensate.

Briefly stated, and in accordance with one aspect of this invention, we provide a web cooling device which is placed at the exit of a steam box, which steam sets ink on a web coming out of a printing station, which web cooler cools and dries the web to room temperature in a short period or" time without excess condensation settling on the walls of the web cooler itself or on any of the foflowing machine equipment, the web cooler containing a chamber for receiving air at high pressure and high velocity to form a low pressure area. in the chamber which sucks in large volumes of atmospheric air at room temperature so as to cool and dry the web in a short period of time.

The foregoing and other objects, features, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following more particular descripiton of a preferred embodiment of the invention, as illustrated in the accompanying drawmgs.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a view showing the position of a print station, steam drier, web cooler and other machine components in relation to a continuous web;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the web cooler;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the web cooler taken on lines 3-3 of FIG. 2.

Referring to FIG. 1, the numeral 10 generally designates a web which is shown passing through a print station or printing mechanism 12, a steam drier 14, a punching station or mechanism 16, and feed rollers 18. The print station and steam drier are arranged suificiently close so that the wet ink is set by steam being applied in the steam drier through a conduit 19. When the web leaves the steam drier, the printing thereon is sufficiently set so that operations can be performed on the web without the ink smearing. However, since steam is applied to the web and. contains large amounts of moisture, condensation would normally collect on the punching mechanism and the feed rollers, so as to cause rusting. A web cooler 20 is provided to remove such moisture rapidly and thereby eliminate rusting due to this cause.

A conduit 22 is provided and supplies compressed air for the Web cooler. The web cooler contains a main body portion 24 containing a chamber 25 therein through which the web that is to be cooled and dried passes. The chamber 25 terminates in an opening 26 which is open to the atmosphere which may be at room temperature. The main body portion contains a recessed portion 28 which is tapered inwardly towards the chamber 25.

An insert i is fitted into the recess portion 28 so as to partially close off the chamber 25 to the atmosphere. An oblong passageway 32 is disposed within the insert and is exposed to atmospheric air indicated by arrow 44 which is at room temperature. A manifold 34- is formed by an annular recess in the insert 30 and by walls of the recess 28. Angularly disposed slots are positioned in the insert 30 and together with the tapered portion of the recess form passageways 36.

A port 38. is shown connected to the conduit 22 so as to receive high pressure, high velocity air. The high velocity, high pressure air passes through passageways 36, through orifices 40 into the chamber 25. A low pressure area is formed where the high velocity, high pressure air impinges near the web is best seen in FIG. 2. This low pressure area sucks in atmospheric air, as shown by arrow 44, which is at room temperature, through the oblong passageway 32. The atmospheric air at room temperature is indicated by the arrows 44, and mixes with the high pressure air indicated by arrows 46 to combine to dispose of the moisture in the web through the large opening 26.

In operation, the web 10 after leaving the print station will pass intothe steam box so as to set the print. The steam supplies additional moisture to the strip and elevates the temperature of the web. The web then passes into a web cooling device positioned at the exit of the steam box. Compressed air is introduced into the interior of the device opposite to the direction of travel of the web by way of conduit 22, port 38, manifold 34, and angularly positioned passageways 36. The high pressure, high velocity air is forced through the orifices 40 into the chamber 25 so as to impinge near the surface of the web at 42 and mixes with the atmospheric air at room temperature passing through the oblong passageway 32 opposite to the direction of travel of the Web. The high pressure, high velocity air from orifices 40 creates a low pressure area in chamber 25 so as to draw in the room air through the web exit 32. The combined high pressure, high velocity air as indicated by arrows 46 and the low pressure, high volume air indicated by arrow 44 is exhausted through the opening 26 to the atmosphere after contacting the web.

The high velocity, high pressure air mixed with the high volume air causes the web to cool rapidly but at a sufliciently graduated rate to prevent the condensation of moisture on the web itself or on the walls of the web cooling device, and also from being deposited on the punch mechanism at the punch station and the feed rolls 18.

Furthermore, the mixture of the both types of air prevents the. Web from drying out excessively. In addition, when the web subsequently enters the cooler parts of the machine, it will not develop any beads of moisture which would cause smearing of the ink or rusting.

While the invention has been particularly shown and described with reference to a preferred embodiment thereof, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the foregoing and other changes in form and details may be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. An apparatus for cooling and removing moisture from a web of steam treated sheet material which comprises, a main body portion having a chamber providedwith an entrance opening and an exit opening through which the web that is to be dried and cooled passes, both of said openings being exposed to the atmosphere, an insert mounted in said body portion at said exit opening so as to partially close off said chamber to the atmosphere, a passageway in said insert exposed to the atmosphere and through which said Web exits, and a plurality of angularly positioned passageways formed between said insert and said main body and through which high pressure-high velocity air is forced to impinge near the surface of the web material in said chamber, said high pressurehigh velocity air creating a low pressure area in said chamber so as to draw in atmospheric air through said exit passageway, the combined high pressure-high velocity air and the atmospheric air contacting the Web in said chamber and then exhausting through said entrance opening.

2. An apparatus for cooling and removing moisture from a web of steam treated sheet material which comprises, a main body portion having a chamber provided with an entrance opening and an exit opening through which the web that is to be dried and cooled passes, both of said openings being exposed to the atmosphere, said main body having a recessed portion at its exit end which is tapered inwardly towards said chamber, an insert mounted into said recess portion so as to partially close off the chamber to the atmosphere, an oblong passageway disposed within said insert exposed to the atmosphere and through which said web exits, an annular recess in said insert for forming a manifold section within the walls of the recess portion of said main body, means for conducting high pressure-high velocity air into said manifold section, and a plurality of angularly disposed slots in said insert through which the high pressure-high velocity air in said manifold section is forced to impinge near both the upper and lower surfaces of the web material in said chamber, said high pressure-high velocity air creating a low pressure area in said chamber so as to draw in atmospheric air through said exit passageway, the combined high pressure-high velocity air and the atmospheric air contacting the web in said chamber and then exhausting through said entrance opening.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 855,339 Razall May 28, 1907 2,422,105 Lehrer June 10, 1947 2,574,900 Williams et a1 Nov. 13, 1951 2,645,179 Spiro July 14, 1953 2,882,611 Debrie Apr. 21, 1959 2,906,205 Speers Sept. 29, 1959 

